URL Decoder

What is URL Decoding?

URL decoding is the process of converting encoded characters in a URL string back into their readable, original form. In a URL, certain characters (like spaces or special symbols) are replaced with percent-encoded values to ensure compatibility across all browsers and servers.

For example:

https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Ffile%20name

…becomes:

https://example.com/file name

How Does URL Decoding Work?

When a URL is encoded, special characters are replaced with percent (%) signs followed by two-digit hexadecimal values. The decoder reads the string, identifies these %xx sequences, and converts them back to their ASCII equivalents.

For example:

• %20 → space ( )

• %3A → colon (:)

• %2F → slash (/)

This process is done using standard decoding functions, like JavaScript’s decodeURIComponent() or Python’s urllib.parse.unquote().

How to Use Qodex URL Decoder Tool

1. Paste your percent-encoded URL or string.

2. Click “Decode”.

3. Get the clean, readable text instantly in the output box.

4. Use “Copy” or download the result.

This tool works entirely in your browser and supports decoding:

• Full URLs

• Query strings

• Encoded text snippets

Practical Use Cases

• Debugging URLs: Quickly inspect complex or broken query parameters.

• Data Cleaning: Decode encoded data from forms, logs, or APIs.

• Web Development: Decode strings before further processing in apps.

• SEO Analysis: Understand human-readable URLs from encoded versions.

• Security Reviews: Inspect suspicious links and obfuscated input.

Code Example: Decode URL in Python

import urllib.parse

encoded_url = "https%3A%2F%2Fqodex.ai%2Fall-tools%2Furl-decoder"
decoded_url = urllib.parse.unquote(encoded_url)

print("Decoded:", decoded_url)
# Output: https://qodex.ai/all-tools/url-decoder

Try it in our:

• UTF-8 Decoder if the text is also encoded in UTF-8

• Base64 Decoder for content that has been double-encoded

Pro Tips

• URLs often contain multiple encodings. If you decode and still see %, run it again.

• Don’t decode values more than once unless you’re sure it was double-encoded.

• Use this with our URL Encoder for round-trip testing.

• Decode query strings to separate parameters for debugging or analytics.